Pope aide George Pell charged with child sex abuse
Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis' chief financial adviser and Australia's most senior Catholic, is the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever be charged in the church's long-running sexual abuse scandal.
Victoria state Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said on Thursday police have summoned Pell to appear in an Australian court to face multiple charges of "historic sexual offences", meaning offences that generally occurred some time ago.
The charges are a new and serious blow to Pope Francis, who has already suffered several credibility setbacks in his promised "zero tolerance" policy about sex abuse. His actions as archbishop came under intense scrutiny in recent years by a government-authorised investigation into how the Catholic Church and other institutions have responded to the sexual abuse of children.
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